


Can You See Me

by Carmenlire



Series: Flufftober [13]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Dancer Magnus Bane, First Meetings, Fluff, M/M, Mundane Magnus Bane/Mundane Alec Lightwood, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Time Skips
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-14
Updated: 2018-10-14
Packaged: 2019-08-01 18:54:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,539
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16289930
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Carmenlire/pseuds/Carmenlire
Summary: “What did you dream of, baby,” his mom asked softly.“There was a boy,” Magnus exclaimed. “He had brown eyes that were sometimes green. I think he was happy.”She’d smiled, carefully ruffling her son’s hair. “That sounds really interesting, Magnus. Do you know why you had that dream?”Or, Magnus dreams of his soulmate.





	Can You See Me

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Español available: [Can You See Me (Traducción)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18250757) by [lbp98l](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lbp98l/pseuds/lbp98l)



> Prompt: Dreams

It happens around five years of age.

The dreams start. Vivid dreams about one’s soulmate. They never reveal anything useful, though. It’s always glimpses of a face, the impression of a laugh.

Magnus’s fifth birthday had been two weeks away when he’d first dreamed of his soulmate. He’d woken up the next morning and all he could remember were hazel eyes that seemed more real than his own. Immediately, he’d gone to his mother who was making breakfast in the kitchen.

Shuffling closer, he’d tugged on her apron and when she’d looked down at him, she’d known.

Magnus’s eyes had been wide and curious as he’d said, “Mama, I had a dream last night.”

She’d known that it wasn’t his usual dream about exploring with his kitten or losing his favorite stuffed penguin.

“What did you dream of, baby,” she’d asked softly.

“There was a boy,” Magnus exclaimed. “He had brown eyes that were sometimes green. I think he was happy.”

She’d smiled, carefully ruffling her son’s hair. “That sounds really interesting, Magnus. Do you know why you had that dream?”

Silently, Magnus had shaken his head, holding his penguin close to him as he’d looked up to her for all the answers in the universe.

The first dream of one’s soulmate was always a celebrated affair. There were those who never experienced dreams and she was grateful her boy wasn’t one of them. It was gratifying to know that Magnus would be loved and loved well in this life.

She’d lifted him into her arms-- sparing a fleeting thought for the fact that she wouldn’t be able to do this much longer-- and took him to the backyard.

It might have been late November, but it was a balmy day and she holds Magnus close as they overlook the winter landscape.

Magnus is mostly focusing on the lone bird he sees flitting around the bare branches of the closest trees when his mom starts speaking.

“The dream you had last night was of your soulmate, _sayang_. I know that can be a scary word, but all it means is that there’s someone out there for you that’s your other half. You’re a whole person by yourself but this person will love you and make you laugh and when you meet, you’ll just know.”

“When will I meet him, mama?”

She laughs a little, kisses her darling boy on the cheek. “That I don’t know. It could be next year or when you’re fifteen or when you’re thirty.”

“But I’ll be so old then,” Magnus pouts.

“Don’t worry, _sayang_. The longer you wait, the more time you have to discover yourself and who you want to be as an individual. You’ll meet your person when the time is right.”

Magnus carefully files away the words, thinking about how much he wants to meet this person already. They sound interesting and Magnus loves meeting new people-- he can’t wait to meet this person who will make him laugh and will give him the last chocolate chip cookie.

Magnus promises that he’ll always give his soulmate his last spoonful of ice cream.

That evening, Magnus’s mom makes his favorite dinner with cupcakes for dessert. Magnus goes to bed dreaming of hazel eyes and smiles in his sleep.

 

Magnus is seventeen and dreams of his soulmate regularly. Not all the time, not even every month, but he regularly dreams of a boy. Sardonically, he wonders that there’s never any useful information-- a street name, an identifiable piece of information.

He knows that his soulmate has beautiful eyes and a wide smile. He has a scar that cuts through an eyebrow and loves poetry.

Soulmate dreams either provide snippets of the person or their interests. Magnus knows that Raphael’s soulmate has an obsession with rock music and that whoever Ragnor’s soulmate is must get an eyeful of his garden.

Distantly, Magnus wonders what his soulmate knows of him.

Magnus is in a little town in Upstate New York. It’s adorably rural but Magnus aches for bigger, for more. He doesn’t know quite what he wants to do after high school. He doesn’t know where he wants to go for college or what he would even do once he got there.

The world is his oyster and it’s as terrifying as it is liberating. 

He’s not tied to anything and his mother is nothing but supportive. He’ll always come back for visits, of course, but Magnus can’t help but itch to get away from his small town.

Distantly, in the back of his mind, he wonders where his soulmate is. He knows that there are no decisions to be made in regards to him. Magnus will go his own path and whenever destiny decides it suits, he’ll run into his soulmate.

Damn but he wished he had a clue to go on, though.

Magnus comes home from dance practice and spends the next few hours working on homework before helping his mom make dinner.

It’s uneventful and soon enough, he’s back in his bedroom, flipping through his worn copy of The Odyssey.

He falls asleep with the book on his chest and for the first time dreams of his boy in a city. He catches a glimpse of a leather jacket and glaring green eyes and a frowning face that makes Magnus shift in his sleep, reaching out to soothe even when dreaming.

When he wakes up in the morning, he knows without a doubt where he’d seen. There’s no mistaking that skyline.

For the next year, Magnus quietly but fervently researches schools in New York City. He auditions and he takes exams and two weeks after graduation he leaves everything he’s ever known-- though through sheer luck Ragnor and Raphael make the trip with him, each attending Columbia and NYU, respectively.

He spends the summer getting acquainted with a city that feels more home than the town he’d lived in for eighteen years and when September comes around, Magnus throws himself into his classes at Julliard.

He finds himself in the city of millions, though there’s a piece that can’t help but live in muted anticipation. Each day is a chance to meet his soulmate and he can’t wait.

 

Magnus takes a step in line, getting closer to the coffee kiosk cashier. It’s a wonderfully warm spring day and New York is definitely at its best.

He takes a quick glance at his phone and sees that he has about an hour before he has to get back to his studio. He has a children’s ballet class this afternoon and his mind whirls as he thinks through anything that will need to be addressed from last session.

Magnus bought his own studio last year, opening Bane’s School of Dance, and while he’d sweated and worried and been on the verge of utter despair at least three times a day for a few years, he’s pleased to see that his hard work is paying off. 

He’s twenty six and there’s a waiting list for his classes and private sessions. He loves what he does and has built a life that’s damn near perfect.

Key word: Near.

Magnus sighs a little as he steps forward, placing his order and moving to the other end of the bar to the pickup station. He still hasn’t met his soulmate. Contrary to all odds, he hasn’t grown disenchanted with the idea like so many of his peers. Raphael met Simon in college and Ragnor ran into Cat one morning on the subway last year.

Magnus is the last of his friends to find his match and while he’s had a few existential crises about it, he’s more or less okay with things.

He has his mother’s advice ringing in his head and he’s taken it to heart. He might not have his soulmate yet but Magnus has had a great time living life on his own terms, creating his own stories.

He thinks he’s ready for the next step, though, and for that he needs his partner.

He still dreams regularly. It’s been over twenty years, but Magnus still sees flashes of those hazel eyes. He’d known them anywhere at this point. Over the years, he’s also gotten glimpses of heavy stubble, messy hair, and an intriguing tattoo that sits low on the hip.

It’s frustrating but Magnus knows that he has to bide his time.

A cup is set down that looks like the ridiculously sweet caramel frappuccino he’d ordered and Magnus steps forward to pick it up, takes a bracing sip that immediately sings on his tongue.

He turns away, set to walk the path of the park that leads to his studio when he collides with a man in an austere if well-tailored navy suit, crisp white button down open at the throat.

Well, his shirt _was_ a snowy white. It’s currently soaked with caramel and whipped cream and iced espresso.

Magnus looks up, set to apologize, and promptly loses his breath and every goddamn thought in his head except _it’s you_.

He distantly catalogs the grain of a heavy five o’clock shadow and a scar that cuts through an eyebrow.

He meets the gaze of his soulmate and loses himself in stunning hazel eyes.

**Author's Note:**

> Catch me on tumblr @carmenlire!


End file.
